Magic Overlord: The Last Arcane Sorcerer

Child of Ragnarok

Aethan’s heart hammered with anticipation as he crouched behind a thick bush, his father a few paces ahead, scanning the clearing with his sixth sense.

The air was humid, heavy with the scent of wet earth and distant rain. Leaves rustled faintly in the wind, the trees swaying gently, belying the tension in the air.

Darion raised a hand, signaling Aethan to get ready.

Then, through the swirling mist ahead, they came.

Three Typhoon Horses burst into view, galloping with wild abandon. Their muscular bodies sparkled, covered in silver-gray fur that crackled faintly with static electricity, each current zipping between their hair filaments in a game of tag.

Their manes whipped like flags in a gale, snapping through the air around them beautifully, but dangerously.

Each hooffall sent a burst of compressed wind and electric currents shooting outward, kicking up dust and striking loose soil.

Aethan’s eyes narrowed. They were fast—at least for the previous Aethan—but now that he was a First-Circle Sorcerer…

The newly formed Crimson Core within him rotated suddenly, pulsing with shuddering might and flooding his limbs with Aether.

The lead Typhoon Horse—larger than the others, its mane practically a small storm—locked eyes with Aethan through the bushes as it sensed the rush of Aether. It snorted, electric sparks dancing across its snout and hooves.

Then it accelerated!

Aethan blinked, and it was almost before him, zipping towards him and vanishing in a blur of silver and blue.

Aethan barely leapt to the side as a sharp gust blasted past him, tearing through the bushes like a scythe.

He landed on his feet, his lips curling into a faint smile. His body responded better than ever before, every muscle fiber and tendon singing with strength, every synapse firing in rapid electric harmony.

The Typhoon Horse wheeled around, hooves digging the ground, then came at him directly without hesitation.

Aethan moved.

He ducked low, torquing his torso to the side, and as the Horse flashed past him, he drove his fist hard against its flank, channeling raw Aether through the strike.

A muffled bang sounded, not a strong blow, but enough to stagger the creature mid-sprint, shifting it off course.

The Typhoon Horse stumbled, sparks and gales of shredding winds howling wildly around it.

From the side, Darion’s voice rang out:

“Good!” He hollered. "Again, Aethan! Go for its legs!”

The other two Horses were circling Aethan now, snorting and bucking as tiny cyclones and sparks whipped up around their sturdy hooves.

They seemed to ignore Darion as if he were invisible, but this was just a gap in power that forced obedience.

Right now, the Typhoon Horse leader was fighting on orders of Darion as he communicated with them using his Totembeast. They would have run away if they had the chance, but they were forced to fight for their lives.

Aethan rushed forward before the Typhoon Horse could recover, gathering Aether in his quads and calves. The ground cracked beneath his feet as he launched upward, flipping over the beast’s lowered head.

Mid-air, he twisted, drawing a simple dagger from his waist, one made from refined Blessed Steel, strong enough to withstand shocks of magic.

He brought the dagger down in a sweeping arc, aiming for the joint behind the Horse’s front leg.

The Typhoon Horse sensed it at the last moment, and with a screech that sounded almost like a crack of thunder, it kicked its legs up.

Aethan found the world spinning around him, and he barely managed to roll across the creature’s back and land heavily on the ground behind it.

Pain pulsed through his shoulder from the rough landing, but that didn't stop him from grinning like a lunatic.

“Wonderful!" He commented.

The Typhoon Horse turned around swiftly, its movements more cautious and deliberate. Blue sparks danced along its body, running over it quickly and gathering at its limbs.

…it was preparing another charge!

Aethan planted his feet firmly on the ground, a smile still plastered on his face as he focused inward.

The Crimson Core within him stirred, spinning rapidly, but with an imposition of his will, he forced it to rotate faster, and in response, more Aether surged through his limbs.

The technique his brother, Merek, had thought him couldn't only be used as a tempering tool. In fact that wasn't its original use, but it was discovered that it could be used in that way after a Knight tested it randomly.

The original use of the technique was boosting the physical prowess using Aether, and Aethan had just subconsciously done that.

His muscles bulged harder, pressing against his clothing and threatening to rip them apart. His eyes glowed a deep red as he activated Blood Essence Extraction. The veins in his hands bulged, his skin reddened, and his short, white hair began to undulate.

The raw power flowing through him was too much for his body to easily handle, but Aethan didn't seem to care.

The wild grin on his face said it all.

A true Narok reveled in carnage and destruction, hence the name Narok—a short for Ragnarok.

The Typhoon Horse reared up with a high-pitched neigh, a swirling storm forming at its hooves.

Aethan crouched and kicked off with so much force that the ground exploded behind him, raising a cloud of soil as he flashed forward.

He reached the horse in no time, and at the last second he dropped low, sliding across the dirt beneath the beast’s kicking legs.

His eyes flashed with a malevolent light, and his dagger blurred, tearing through the air and driving into the soft flesh of the Typhoon Horse’s underbelly.

His momentum carried him forward, and a long gash was made, splitting the belly open.

There was a flash of light as the Aether in the dagger ravaged the Horse's insides, and it screamed, a pulse of wind exploding outward, throwing Aethan several feet backwards.

He hit the ground, ricocheted a bit before springing back to his feet, gasping.

The Typhoon Horse stumbled, its belly bleeding intensely and literally pouring out its organs.

It staggered sideways, neighing one last time before it finally collapsed with a heavy, sickening thud.

The other two Typhoon Horses—finally released from Darion's control—instantly sped away, their distressed neighs and crackling hoofbeats filling the clearing.

Aethan let out a deep breath, stopping the rotation of his Core. The pain and fatigue hit him the instant the adrenaline subsided, and he dropped to a knee, gasping for air.

Darion strode over calmly, his large hammer slung across his back.

“Well done, son,” he said, his eyes glowing with pride. “You used your head and skills in ways I didn't expect.”

Aethan panted, grinning despite the ache in his muscles and the blood trickling from the side of his head.

“That wasn't a battle I was supposed to fight,” Aethan uttered, and Darion laughed, reaching down to help him up.

“The Eclipse Sect won’t be half as forgiving as a manipulated Typhoon Horse,” Darion declared. “So be prepared for worse."

Aethan sighed and nodded his head, glancing at the dead beast laying on the ground behind. Then with shaky steps, he staggered over to it, plopping by its side.

All this while he father didn't say a word, only watching expectantly.

The pulsing veins on Aethan's hand were a sign of Blood Essence Extraction being activated, and having been using it for months, he was adept at controlling it.

He could decide not to drain a person's Blood Essence, even when touching, that's why his father was able to lift him from the ground without anything going wrong.

Aethan focused on the body before him, watching as a few sparks danced between the Typhoon Horse's furs.

“Typhoon," Aethan murmured… then placed his hand on the Horse's still-warm flesh. A pulse rippled through his veins, loosening his muscles as the glow in his eyes flared, extracting the last sparks and currents of wind.